Article feeding apparatus and method



March 31, 1970 H. A. STONE 3,5 ,48

' ARTICLE FEEDING APPARATUS Am) METHOD Filed Feb; 28, 1968 IxnsnT R United States Patent US. Cl. 198-403 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Cigarette filter plug feeding apparatus in which a continuous stream of plugs one row deep is pushed sideways by a belt conveyor running underneath them, into the flutes of a rotating drum. The belt acts positively to urge each plug into a flute.

This invention is concerned with improvements in or relating to article feeding apparatus and is particularly, although not exclusively, concerned with feeding cigarette filter plugs from a hopper to a rotating fluted drum.

Drums having a plurality of axial flutes around their periphery are used in many applications in the cigarette industry as a convenient way of handling cigarettes, filter plugs and other rod-like articles. One of the problems which arises in their use is that of ensuring that as the articles are supplied to the drum each of the flutes receives one and none is missed out. This is particularly significant at high operating speeds,

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved article feeding apparatus which is particularly, although not exclusively suitable for feeding cigarette filter plugs to a fluted drum.

According to the present invention there is provided article feeding apparatus comprising a rotary fluted drum, supply means for rod-like articles, and means to feed the articles, transversely of their longitudinal axes, from the supply means to the fluted drum in a continuous stream, wherein the means to feed the articles includes means to urge them sidewise one against the other so that the leading article is urged against the fluted drum. Preferably the articles are fed from the supply means in a single row and are supported on a conveyor, which is conveniently an endless band, which pushes them desirably radially of the drum, into engagement with the drum.

The invention is intended for regular articles which are all similar to one another, such as cigarette filter plugs of a length being a multiple of the plug as it appears in a cigarette, the supply means, the fluted dmm and the conveyor all being of a width to accommodate the length of the plugs.

The invention also extends to a machine or machines for manufacturing filter tip or other mouthpiece cigarettes from their component tobacco rods and filter plugs which incorporates article feeding apparatus as described.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the single figure of the accompanying drawings which is a view in section of apparatus for feeding multiple lengths of plugs for filter cigarettes.

Referring to the drawing, the apparatus comprises a supply 31 for plugs 32, which are multiples of the length of plug which is to be used in the cigarettes,'and which are drawn from the supply in a single stream on a downwardly sloping endless band 33 which pushes them radially against a rotating fluted drum 34. A plate 35 is positioned to support the conveyor 33 and a platform 36 bridges the gap between the end of the bands 33 and the drum 34. A plate 37 is positioned parallel to the con- Patented Mar. 31, 1970 veyor 33 adjacent the fluted drum 34 and is spaced from the surface of the conveyor such that only a single row of plugs may pass therebetween. A portion of the plate extends along the cylindrical surface of the drum to retain the plugs in the flutes.

The band 33 slips under the plugs 32 while urging them forwardly, and the effect is that as each flute comes around, a plug 32 jumps into it. The pressure produced by the band tends to ensure that every flute receives a plug.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for conveying rod-like articles comprising a rotatably mounted fluted drum, supply means for said rod-like articles and means to feed the articles transversely of their longitudinal axes from the supply means to the fluted drum in a continuous stream, said feed means being capable of urging said articles one against the other whereby the leading article is urged against the fluted drum.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means to feed the articles comprises means to maintain said articles in a single row while being fed to the fluted drum.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the means to feed the articles comprises means to feed said articles in a direction radially of the fluted drum.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the means to feed the articles comprises an endless band.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the downstream end of said endless band terminates adjacent said fluted drum.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 further comprising a stationary bridge positioned between the downstream end of said endless band and said fluted drum for supporting said articles while moving between the endless band and the drum.

7. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said means to feed the articles further comprises flow restricting means having a surface parallel to the endless band adjacent the fluted drum and spaced from the surface of the endless band supporting said articles such that only a single row of said articles may pass therebetween.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said means to feed said articles further comprises means for supporting said endless band positioned against the surface thereof opposite the surface of the band for supporting said articles.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said rodlike articles are plugs of filter material for the mouthpieces of tobacco articles.

10. A method of feeding rod-like articles from a hopper to a rotating fluted drum so that each flute in the drum is filled by a rod-like article from the hopper, comprising, extracting rod-like articles from the hopper, forming the extracted rod-like articles into a single row and side-byside with one another, moving the single row in a direction normal to the axis of each rod-like article in the row and towards the periphery of the rotating fluted drum such that the rod-like articles in the row successively enter flutes in the rotating drum.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10 comprising accelerating the row of rod-like articles as it moves from the outlet of the hopper to the periphery of the rotating fluted drum.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,393,642 lO/l92l Rose. 2,376,651 5/1945 Bardet.

ROBERT G. SHERIDAN Primary Examiner 

